Dividend Growth Investor: Twelve Cash Machines Hiking Dividends Last Week

While the stock market may be off of its lows, and may trend higher going into the end of the year, investors still need an anchor. They need a way to sift through the market damage and find strong companies.

That’s why one strategy that investors keep using successfully is dividend growth investing. Some stocks pay dividends. A smaller number work to faithfully grow that payout annually. These companies tend to beat the market thanks to their ability to grow payouts.

In recent weeks, 12 companies have raised their dividends. In a poor year for both stocks and bonds, that’s a good sign that many companies can continue to grow, no matter what the economy is doing.

Investors starting on dividend growth investing may see things start small, but the effects over time can prove to be life-changing.

One example of a dividend growth company is Nike (NKE). They just raised their dividend by 11.5 percent, and for the 21^st year in a row.

While the stock’s starting dividend is low at 1.3 percent, the growth is in excess of today’s inflation of 7.7 percent.

And the athletic apparel company is well positioned to continue its market share and raise dividends in the future.

So buyers can likely see more dividend increases for years to come. Over the past five years, Nike has grown its dividend at an average rate of 12 percent.

To view the full list of 12 companies raising dividends now, click here.